Rogge warns women's hockey to improve or exit

[HeresyLives]

Rogge warns women's hockey to improve or exit
AFP
Posted Thursday, February 25, 2010 6:17 PM ET

VANCOUVER, February 25, 2010 (AFP) - International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge served a warning to women's ice hockey officials on Thursday to improve the parity of the competition or face expulsion from the Olympics.

Hours before the gold medal final between the United States and Canada, dominant powers in a tournament where they routed outmatched rivals by lopsided scores, Rogge said there was only so long the Olympics can take that.

"There is a discrepancy. Everyone agrees with that," Rogge said. "This may be the investment period for women's ice hockey. I would personally give them more time to grow but there must be a period of improvement.

-snip-

US forward Monique Lamoureux compares the level to the superiority Canada and the Soviet Union enjoyed in men's hockey a generation ago.
"If you look back 30 to 40 years ago, Canada and Russia were blowing men's hockey out of the water, but other countries came around," she said.
"It's just going to take time and hopefully people will be patient."

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=52298.html?cid=rss

[Archae]

1. What the hell are the better teams supposed to do?

Let the other teams win?

It's not their fault they are playing lousy teams.

Is this Rogge the same asshole who gave that stupid excuse why women can't ski-jump in the Olympics?

[HeresyLives]

3. Yup, that's the guy.

Asshole all the way.

Women aren't supposed to win by too much, but NHL players in what is supposed to be amateur sport is okay. Rogge supports that.

Women can't ski jump, and they can't play hockey now apparently

[Archae]

10. This guy needs to be given the boot.

[Barack_America]

14. He doesn't seem to have the same problem with European-dominated sports.

[HeresyLives]

22. No, he doesn't, does he.

Except for ski-jumping of course...women not allowed.

[polly7]

32. Never mind it was a woman who set the record on the jump the men are using. nt.

[Sanity Claws]

4. I think it means the sport is really not a world sport

and does not belong in the Olympics.
There's only so much time allotted to the games. Perhaps women's ice hockey should be replaced by something that has more world-level competitors.

[HeresyLives]

7. Neither are the rest of them.

Only part of the world gets ice and snow to begin with. And many of those countries are just now able to field a 'team' of more than one.

The point is to try.

[polly7]

30. They all seem to have ice for speed and figure skating.

I think they could come up with some for their women's teams, if they wanted them to play. If not, there are still enough countries that do and will improve. Rogge is an ass.

[Electric Monk]

11. Some of the Men's hockey scores were 8-0, 8-2, 6-1, and 5-0, so remove Men's hockey too?

Silly idea of course. Keep em both.

[Sanity Claws]

15. Aren't there more than two countries who are contenders?

I have not been following all of the games but most likely there are many more competitive men's teams - US, Canada, Russia, some of the former Soviet countries.

Frankly if there were only two countries which were competitive in men's hockey, I'd say let's eliminate it too.
I have no problem with them treating men's and women's sports the same.

In the summer games, baseball and softball were eliminated because of the lack of competitive teams, IIRC. Why should the Olympics include a game that is not that popular?

[HeresyLives]

18. But it IS popular.

It's just...female.

[Johonny]

24. at the start of mens hockey in the Olympics

it was totally dominated by Canada and then Russia. For 62 years. Only now is Olympic mens hockey even close to a balanced sport. But it seems the IOC had the patients to wait when they were men...

[Art_from_Ark]

23. So curling is a world sport?

How about luge?
Beach volleyball, anyone?

[Sanity Claws]

25. Soccer is probably the only world sport

Most of the games at the Olympics probably only have a 5 to 8 countries which are competitive for the top medals.
For women's ice hockey, it appears that only two teams are competitive and all the other teams are just not on the same level.
It's a matter of degree.

[HeresyLives]

26. And how many women are allowed to play?

[Myrina]

2. .. its a tough situation ...

... Something like 50,000 Chinese play hockey out of a population of 10 brazillion, whereas in Canada people pretty much learn to stickhandle before they're in kindergarten.

Does that mean that its not fair that Canada is kicking everyone's ass in hockey? No - but does it mean that China shouldn't be allowed to field a team just because they suck? Also No.

So what's the answer? Eliminating the sport altogether and squashing any potential for developing interest in countries that don't traditionally play hockey? That doesn't make sense either.

:shrug:

[HeresyLives]

5. All sports start out small.

This is just the pain-in-the-ass IOC being anti-women again.

[polly7]

31. Agree 100%. nt.

[Lucy Goosey]

6. Good Goddess, give them a bit more time.

In the first Winter Olympic (men's) hockey tournament, Canada scored 110 goals and had 3 scored against. Other countries eventually became competitive.

This is only the 4th time that women's hockey has been in the Games. The women haven't caught up with the competitiveness of the men yet, but that's not so surprising, really.

Girls who were born in the first year that women's hockey was in the Olympics are only 12 years right now. We should wait until a generation of girls have grown up with women's hockey always being an Olympic sport before there is any serious move to take it out of the Games.

[HeresyLives]

8. In the meantime it's very popular, and draws crowds.

[bullwinkle428]

9. Olympic Basketball would have been a ridiculous, one-sided joke,

had the NBA players been competing in the Summer Games against the rest of the world back in the 1970s and earlier. My, how things have changed!

[MadMaddie]

12. I wonder if he says that about mens sports where teams get

a beat down? No? Really? Call me surprised!!

[Lucy Goosey]

16. ...exactly.

Why is Rogge being such an ass about this? It seriously doesn't make sense.

[Barack_America]

13. Oh please, cross country and biathlon are dominated by the same damn countries....

...every year. As is speed skating dominated by the Dutch.

Should those sports be eliminated too? Or are they okay because they're always won by European countries?

[devilgrrl]

17. Mr. Rogge can shove it up his ass.

:nuke:

GO WOMENS HOCKEY!!!!!

[HeresyLives]

19. I'LL DRINK TO THAT!

:toast:

[Barack_America]

20. It's time for the Olympics to live up to their Charter and cancel men's sports...

...for which there is no female representation.

Curious that Mr. Rogge is always so eager to deny women the chance to play!

[devilgrrl]

27. They cancelled Softball despite the USA being upset by Japan for the gold.

Some womens sports are just going to take time to develop world wide. There's definitely a little sexism happening here and it's annoying! :mad:

[Johonny]

28. they dumped mens baseball and womens softball

not sexism, but possibly anti-American as those sports aren't popular in Europe only Asia and the Americas. Meanwhile European (team) handball continues in both men and women. 1 non-European team as ever won a medal in this sport on the mens side. Go figure.

[devilgrrl]

29. Funny that they cancelled baseball when different teams seem to win...

Didn't the USA get beat by weird teams like Italy and such?

I stand corrected.

[Johonny]

21. from 1920 to 1992 all but 3 golds went to two teams in mens hockey

but I guess the IOC had the patients to wait for the rest of the world to catch up...